Writers › Writer / Poet
Kuang Lu
Late-Ming poet and calligrapher from Nanhai, Guangdong, whose Chiya records the customs and songs of the peoples of Guangxi; he starved himself to death holding his qin when Qing troops took Guangzhou.
Mural of the cultural record “Grand Song of the Dong”, which this person is tied to.
Also known as Zi Zhanruo · Hao Haixue
Kuang Lu, born Kuang Ruilu, styled Zhanruo and Haixue, came from a scholarly family in Nanhai, Guangdong. He wrote poetry and parallel prose, followed Wang Xizhi in calligraphy, collected antiquities and was known for his unconventional ways. In 1634, after colliding with the Nanhai magistrate's procession, he fled to Guangxi and lived among the Yao, writing the three-juan Chiya on the customs of the region's peoples. He returned home around 1639 and later served the Southern Ming as a secretary. When Qing troops took Guangzhou in 1650 he refused food and died holding his qin. His poems are collected in Qiaoya.
Life and times
Dates 1604 CE–1650 CE